GNT #059: How to sell you (without feeling weird)

read time: 5 minutes

Do you enjoy your work, but feel like you're pushing a boulder uphill when it comes to actually closing business?

😬

You're not alone.

But the hard truth is, without a sale, you don't really have a business. 

Selling and closing is a required transaction for any company.

But "selling" doesn't feel natural for many of us.

And being "sold to" in a slimy way doesn't feel great.

But it doesn't have to feel "salesy" or "sleazy."

It could actually feel really great because you are helping people solve their challenging problems.

Today, we're covering 6 wonderful ways to sell your services or products without feeling weird about it.

First, what NOT to do - How to be a sleazy salesperson in 5 easy steps.

A little Thursday humor...

[p.s. AI made this image. I didn't realize "sleazy salespeople" have folded backwards wrists? 🤷‍♀️]

1. Act as if your pitch/story is more valuable than your customer's time.

Better yet, don't do any research about them or their company. Draw out your own intro. Ask questions you could’ve answered with a 5-minute internet search. 

2. Continue to pitch when it's clear your products/services are not the right fit for them.

Demonstrate your inability to listen. Undermine the relationship you worked hard to establish in the first place.

3. Continue to pitch after they've shared they may be interested in the future.

A good sleazy salesperson disregards any timeline, but their own. 

4. Practice the ol' bait and switch.

Push any and all products and services in your arsenal.

5. Throw a tantrum if there isn't interest

Sleazy salespeople focus on making the sale – come hell or high water.

Ick, right? 

These tactics ignore everything about a potential clients' purpose, challenges, and timeline.

Now, let's look at better ways to help you sell and feel really great about the process. These tips are inspired by Robert Cialdini's book, "Influence" along with some flavor from my own experiences.

1. Always provide value First

Help. Volunteer. Provide an intro. Share your expertise. Support without an agenda. Engage with genuine interest vs. focusing on how great you are.

Even at scale, value can always be provided first.

This is one of the many reasons HubSpot provides so many great free tools and templates.

Why concise and helpful LinkedIn carousel posts receive so much interest.

Providing value first builds the foundation of a future relationship.

By nature, we are inclined to return the value that's given to us.

Tap into that nature by consistently providing genuine value.

p.s. I use HubSpot's free tools and templates all. the. time. (and I don't get a commission for saying that either)

They are great starting point and you can customize them for your specific use. 

ACTION STEP: This week listen for opportunities to help someone in your network. Listen at events, in networking meetings, on social media. 

2. Share social proof

When others say how awesome you are, it has more credibility than you shouting from the rooftops.

Testimonials, video, quotes, reviews, case studies, metrics, specific results for a customer.

When your potential customers see social proof, they feel safer in choosing you and are much more likely to actually give you money in return for a promise.

I use quotes all over my website and specifically on my newsletter sign up page.

If you're focused on always leading with value first, it will be pretty easy to ask for a testimonial.

And if you don't have any customers yet, you could consider providing a reduced cost (or free) service in return for a testimonial.

ACTION STEP: Do one thing this week that will help you develop social proof assets. Need help gathering social proof? Check out: GNT #56: How to ask for testimonials and use them to sell more

3. Build trust

Building visibility and trust are two of the most important pieces of any growth strategy.

And establishing your credibility and authority in your space is critical to building trust.

With information overload and only a few seconds of attention time, how will you demonstrate your authority?

The key is demonstrate, not just tell.

And one way to start earning that trust and show your authority in your space is by creating truly helpful content on social media.

Link to articles you've written on your website or industry forums, case studies showing examples and results, share podcast interviews where you shine in your element.

But here's the thing.

It's tough to be an expert if you ONLY use social media to build trust.

Social media is a tool to capture visibility and attention with shorter and concise content.

Longer form content allows you to showcase your expertise and build deeper trust.

How are you gaining visibility and building trust?

ACTION STEP: Block 2 hours in your schedule in the next month to create a helpful piece of long-form content that addresses a specific issue your buyer faces. 

Once complete, reuse 2-3 ideas from your long-form content to drip on social media. Make sure to include a link in the social post to the long-form content. 

4. Be relatable

We have a natural tendency to gravitate toward and choose to purchase from people we feel connected to.

And I think the best way we can earn that connected place in someone's heart is to be kind, approachable, and real.

It's tough to feel connected to someone that's an expert, but a robot.

Even B2B brands are picking up on this and infusing a sense of humanity into their messaging.

A recent piece titled "A Slack Guide to Going Out of Office" opens with this empathetic paragraph:

"Even though many of us daydream about our next vacation, there’s a real fear about being able to unplug, leave your team and projects behind, and return later with minimal disruption. It’s not easy, and it’s natural to ask yourself, What will happen at work while I’m gone, and how will I ever catch up when I get back?"

And you just gotta check out this little ditty from Slack.

What could this look like for you?

Perhaps share the stories of how you got to where you are today, including the challenges, failures, the learnings. How have your unique experiences given you a different perspective than others in your field? How does that relate to additional value for your audience?

Part of being relatable and genuine is understanding who you are, what you stand for, what values you live by, and having empathy and respect for others even when you don't agree.

As you start to share who you are some people will resonate with your message, many will ignore you, and some will disagree.

And this is totally normal and an expected outcome of building the right audience for your business.

Developing a thick skin and staying focused on my purpose was a hard lesson I learned while growing Good Plane Living's YouTube Channel to 1M+ views. Read more on that here: GNT #014: 1M+ Views, 3 Lessons That Help Me Grow Businesses

ACTION STEP: As you meet and engage with people this week. How can you create genuine connection. How can you be approachable and relatable? Need some ideas? Read: GNT #002: How to Connect with Anyone in 60 Seconds or Less
 

5. Limited availability

By infusing signals of limited availability, you can create more urgency in your sales process.

Examples of this:

- Limited time offers
- Invitation only opportunities
- Early bird pricing
- Bundle offers for a limited time
- Seasonal offers
- Countdown timers
- Member-only deals
- Last chance reminders

Sometimes these can feel a little weird if done out of desperation, but when positioned correctly and not overdone, it can be really successful.

Every business has its seasons. Many people create an annual calendar and plan opportunities to create urgency and limited availability for products and services.

Getting intentional and ahead of this can help you plan your messaging and avoid desperate, last minute aggressive selling.

Read more on this: GNT #42: Escape the exhausting feast-or-famine cycle

[TOMS’s Humanitarian Campaign and limited edition panda shoes]

ACTION STEP: Create your planning calendar for the next 12 months. How can you infuse a sense of limited availability?

6. Make it easy to commit, even in a small way

A big part of building the trust that's needed in the sales process is to provide opportunities to commit, even in a very small way.

I encourage my LinkedIn followers to sign up for my newsletter.

There's no exchange of money, but subscribing is a commitment of a few moments of time and space each week in their inbox.

My subscribers are much more likely to reach out for help in the future (because of visibility + trust).

With this in mind, can you create multiple offers to meet your buyer where they're at?

For some, this might look like:

1) Follow on LinkedIn 
2) An email list sign up
3) Paid services

For others it might be:

1) Subscribing on YouTube
2) Attending a free event
3) paying for a course

Providing a small commitment allows you to build the relationship over time as they move through your sales funnel.

ACTION STEP: If you don't have a small, free, action step in your process already, what could this be? Block 30 focused minutes on your calendar this week to draft it out. 

 
Takeaway

If the idea of being "sales-y" makes your skin crawl, stop focusing on your timeline or pushing your product/services at the expense of building relationship.

Focus on these:

1. Always providing value first
2. Sharing social proof
3. Building trust
4. Being relatable
5. Infusing limited availability
6. Making it easy to commit, even in a small way

You were made for this.
And you will help many people solve their challenges.

If you need help, I'm a click away.

See you next week.

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